On a rainy Saturday afternoon in December 2008, Whitney Handy plopped down on the couch, feet propped onto the coffee table, a bag of Hershey’s Kisses at her side, settling in to watch the telecast of the Ironman Hawaii triathlon.

“I need ample space for this chocolate eating,” said Handy, a beginner triathlete at the time.

Moved by NBC’s inspirational age-group stories, Handy was in tears by the end of the broadcast, a pile of aluminum foil by her side. Motivated, she embarked on a run.

“I think I made it a mile or two,” said Handy, 22, a University of San Diego senior. “I cramped up from all the chocolate.”

Fast forward to last Saturday. At the Ford Ironman St. George in St. George, Utah, competing in her first Ironman, Handy won the 18-24 age group, covering the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run in 12 hours, 25 minutes, 30 seconds. She won her age group by more than 75 minutes. Handy’s reward: a trip to the Ford Ironman World Championship come October in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

For a woman who took up the sport less than two years ago, who admits “I never caught on to the runner’s high, I never just want to go out for a run,” the realization that she’s headed to Hawaii is mind-boggling.

Raised in Windsor, N.J., about an hour south of New York, Handy swam and played field hockey and lacrosse in high school. Saying she always wanted to come to California, she followed two friends who attended USD.

Her introduction to the swim-bike-run came by accident. She was studying abroad in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2008 when a friend entered her in a sprint-distance race that summer in New Jersey. Hardly competitive, the friends waited for each other at the swim-bike and bike-run transitions.

“People complimented our shirts,” Barlow said. “I thought they were serious. Now I know they were just making fun of us.”

Handy is a bit more serious about the sport now. Her parents bought her a $4,000 bike for Christmas last year. She’s coached by Breakaway Training’s Felipe Loureiro. Loureiro’s biggest issue with Handy is holding her back, preventing her from training excessively.

“I always get mad at her,” Loureiro said a bit facetiously. “If I give her a three-hour bike ride, she does four.”

Despite saying that her body felt like it had been “hit by a truck,” after the race, Handy asked Loureiro if she could cycle and swim Monday.

“No, no,” he said. “For at least three days, take it easy.”

Handy waited two days. On Tuesday, she took an easy one-hour spin class. Wednesday’s workout: a 90-minute swim. Thursday: a 90-minute swim and one-hour ride.

“It’s kind of hard to find a 22-year-old girl that dedicated in the sport, that early,” Loureiro said.

Training for an Ironman took a toll on Handy’s social life. Friends began calling her “grandma” because she passed on going out in favor of a good night’s sleep.

Because long-distance triathletes spend so much time training, they’re often labeled narcissistic. Handy doesn’t fit the stereotype. She’ll graduate this month with a degree in education. She plans to be a special-education teacher. She has volunteered for four years with Best Buddies, spending time with people who have disabilities.

“I never saw a reason why there’s such a distinction, a separation for people who may not be what we perceive as normal,” Handy said. “It’s just always been a passion of mine.”

Athletically, Handy and Barlow both laugh at where they once were and where they are now. Two years ago, they thought it was a big feat to run from the USD campus to a sandwich shop less than a mile away.

“We walked back because it was uphill,” Barlow said.

Now they’re Ironman triathletes.

“She sets goals way beyond anybody else and won’t stop until she reaches them,” Barlow said. “My goal was just to finish (St. George). Hers was to qualify for Kona on her first try.

“She’s definitely one of those overachievers. She’s absolutely inspiring in everything she does.”